While not yet completed with pictures can someone make this a sticky? Thanks!
LED / HID Conversion Guide – by Harly4d aka Jeremy
Disclaimer: I’m neither familiar with nor responsible for the legal aspects of anyone changing the lighting in their vehicle. It is up to you to determine what is legal and what is not. For example many jurisdictions have laws / regulations against having blue exterior lights! HID conversion is a hot debate. So, make these modifications at your own risk!
A good place to start is to determine what bulbs you need for your particular vehicle: OSRAM SYLVANIA - Replacement Guide - Start
Of course the only true way to find out what type and size you need is to remove the bulb you plan on replacing and note the number of terminals & filaments & size.
HID:
- High Intensity Discharge (like street lights)
- Use ballast to start arc in tube
- Cold warm up period
- Generally consume less energy than halogen counterpart
- Better color rendering
- Come in a variety of color choices measured in Kelvin (K)
- Generally the higher the Kelvin rating (closer to blue & purple) the less light output. (This can be counter acted by higher wattage kits – see below)
- Headlight replacement bulbs now include option with “high beam” functionality. These are generally referred to as BI-XENON. There are two methods used to achieve this. First is a solenoid that moves the arc tube in and out and second, a servo that moves it left and right. Both methods are used to try and focus the tube for high beam operation. There is a now a new method, such as the H13-2 bulb, that includes both an HID arc tube for the low beam and a regular halogen bulb that is used in conjunction with the HID bulb to achieve high beam. Thus is has no moving parts!
- Two different ballast choices: regular or slim (digital). Slim ballast being digital - offer less electrical noise. They are also easier to mount and of course cost a little more.
- Ballast & lamps also come in two different wattages 35 or 50/55. The 50 watt kits offer more light output, which I would only recommend if you plan on purchasing lamps in the higher Kelvin range. Recently I’ve seen kits with an adjustable wattage, which is a nice feature, but the price outweighs the functionality (in my opinion).
There are so many sources for HID light kits. EBay is OK to use but try and stay away from sellers from other countries. Their prices are much cheaper (shipping is normally much higher) but when it comes to customer service and shipping time you’ll end up losing money, especially if you have a problem and have to send something back. Trust me I’ve been there!
Some quick information on LED’s (Light Emitting Diode’s)
- Appear clear until energized
- Reduced energy consumption / load (See note below about blinker fix)
- Reduced heat output
- Longer life span.
- Near instant turn on time –VS-halogen
- Better color rendering –VS- halogen
- Very directional –VS- halogen light which spreads out 360 degrees. Thus the reason most fixtures have a lens to direct the (halogen) light.
- Generally not as bright as halogen. So as a rule of thumb:
- The more actual LED’s that are affixed to the bulb itself, the brighter it will be
- Due to the reduced load on the electrical circuit, if LED’s are used in the blinker circuit the vehicle will either indicate there is a burned out bulb condition, or blink at a faster / rapid rate. The fix for this is either a load cell (resistor) on each bulb, or the easier fix of replacing the blinker flasher with a relay style device with indicator (sound).
Source for LED’s:
My all time favorite source is EBay.
Next, is V-LEDS: (which also sells on EBay too!): V-LEDS.COM High Power, SMT, Super Bright LEDs, HID Headlight Kits, Automotive Interior & Exterior LED Bulbs
Superbrightleds: Super Bright LEDs
So, on to the fun stuff – Here is an example of converting to LED’s on my 2007 Harley Davidson F-150:
I’ll start at the front:
First, you have to remove the headlight assembly. There are three bolts and a clip that holds it in place.
http://www.xtreemkreations.com/headlamp.pdf
For me the headlight is a dual filament (high & low beam) H13 bulb which I would recommend HID as a replacement for the best color rendering. ** LED’s have not been designed for use as the primary source of light (YET!) **
I have 9140 fog / driving lamps & although there’s LED replacements out there that will work (such as H10’s & 9150’s) they are still not quite bright enough yet for my taste. Best bet here is get another set of HID lights in the same color as the headlights! If you went with HID for you head lights this would require a total of four ballast!
Next, is the parking / turn signal lamps. There are many, many choices here. I recommend purchasing the brightest LED bulb you can afford for all exterior bulbs, and highly recommend staying away from colors that weren’t already on the vehicle to begin with. Yeah, blue LED’s are cool, but many jurisdictions reserve blue for police vehicles, and why ask for trouble? Since theses bulbs are 3157’s with dual filaments (one for parking light and the other for blinker flashing) you need an LED bulb with two circuits also. V-LED’s has a new line of lamps with both white and amber LED’s.
Here’s a comparison of the stock bulb with an LED version:
The clearance marker lights are 194’s and again, there’s a plethora of options here, including a new style of LED’s called “flank”. In this situation clearance with the amber lens will be the only concern. And since this light will be behind an amber lens, an amber LED would work the best.
The map lights are 906’s. I’ve had many different types and colors in mine. White is, of course, the brightest.
The dome light is a 41mm long festoon. Again, lots of color and size options here!
The vanity lights are 31mm X 6mm festoons.
As for the third brake light I’ve seen lots of people replace all the bulbs in the OEM assembly, and for the money, I say get a full LED aftermarket assembly, especially for the money you’d end up spending on the bulbs!
Same goes for the tail lights. I personally like the look of the full LED aftermarket lights I have, the only issue being the backup lights were not LED. This was a quick fix with two 3157 clear LED lights!
The license plate lights are 194’s and the real issue here is CLEARANCE. It’s been hit or miss for me on these. I would go with a clear “inverted” style LED bulb or a small “flank” style.
If you have puddle lamps like me, you can ask “how do I…” Yes, they do come apart. No, not very easily. But, nonetheless they do and there's a small festoon style bulb in there too!
Lastly, you can go hog wild and replace all the remaining interior bulbs, such as behind the instrument cluster and so forth. Be creative have fun. Do some searching. Ask questions! If all else fails, send me a PM or email and I’ll do the best I can.
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